Warning of worst-case scenario

BEIJING - A senior drought relief official has warned of mounting challenges in providing drinking water for millions of people if the worst drought to hit the southwest in nearly a century persists.

Each of the nearly 18 million people in the five worst-hit provinces is being supplied with drinking water and 20 liters of water for other use per day, said Zhang Zhitong, executive director of the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

However, he warned of the possibility of no rain in mid-May - the rainy season in Southwest China - when all the stored water would run out.